almond | little things by julia

beet fettuccine with almonds + thyme

Making your own pasta is a simple process and if you’re willing to put in a little muscle, it does not require special equipment. The star of this recipe is really the pasta dough itself — what you serve it with is up to you. I garnished mine with the same beets that flavor and color the pasta dough, along with a drizzle of olive oil, almonds, thyme, and ricotta cheese. If you wanted to dress things up a bit, a white wine cream sauce would be lovely, as would a simple browned butter with sage. The options are endless.

for the pasta dough:

4 medium to large beets, greens removed and peeled [some will be reserved for garnish]

1 egg

2 egg yolks

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

for garnish:

extra virgin olive oil

fresh thyme leaves

flaked or coarse salt

sliced almonds, toasted

ricotta cheese

reserved beets from pasta dough

Cut the peeled beets into large chunks and add to a stock pot. Fill with enough water to cover the beets by 1/2 of an inch. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until beets are tender when pierced with a fork, about 40-45 minutes. Remove beets and reserve the water for cooking the pasta later.

Reserve about half of the beets and set aside [these will be used for garnish when plating]. Place the other half in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, add 3/4 cup of the beet puree, egg, egg yolks, and olive oil to a medium bowl. Whisk gently until everything is completely combined.

Add the flour to a large work surface and form a mound. Make a well in the center, and carefully pour the beet and egg mixture into it (making sure it is completely surrounded by the flour). Using a fork, slowly incorporate the flour into the wet mixture, starting with the inner edges and working outward, until a shaggy, sticky dough starts to form. At this point, knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes, until completely smooth, dusting your work surface lightly with flour if it sticks [be careful not to add too much flour, as it will make the dough too dry]. Once your dough is completely smooth, wrap it tightly in plastic and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.

Once rested, divide the dough in four equal parts. Working with one section of dough at a time on a floured, large work surface, roll out the dough until about 1/4-inch thick. Fold in half and repeat 2 more times. Lastly, roll the dough in a large rectangle until as thin as possible [about 2 – 3 millimeters thick]. Make sure to move the dough often while rolling to ensure it does not stick to the work surface, and make sure to keep all dough that is not being rolled covered to prevent it from drying out. This whole process will take some muscle. Alternatively, if you have one, you can use a pasta roller to roll the dough in the same manner. Cut the rolled dough into strips, about 1/4-inch in width. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to cook to avoid them drying out.

To cook the pasta: bring a large stockpot of water and the reserved beet water to a boil over high heat. Season with salt. Add the fettuccine strips and cook until just al dente [about 2 – 3 minutes]. Drain and toss immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

To plate: arrange the pasta on a plate and drizzle with additional extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves, coarse salt, and toasted almonds. Serve each plate with a spoonful of ricotta cheese and the reserved cooked beets.

Yield: 1 1/2 pounds of dough

plum + almond tart

Sweet, tart plums and toasted almonds are enveloped in a rich, buttery crust in this take on a summer classic. I can see this as the perfect end to a grill night or summer picnic. This recipe makes a smaller tart (serves 2 – 4), so make sure to make multiple if you are hosting a party.

for the pastry crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice water

for the filling:

6 small plums (I used a mixture of mirabelles and santa rosas)

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 of a vanilla bean

confectioner’s sugar, for serving

First, prepare the pastry crust: in a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter pieces, and using your hands or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse meal (there should be larger and smaller of pieces of butter incorporated throughout). Add the ice water and mix until the mixture just begins to form a dough, being careful not to over mix). Form the dough into a thin disc and wrap in a piece of plastic wrap, again being careful not to overwork the dough. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least an hour.

Once dough has chilled, transfer to a work surface that is lightly dusted with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a circle that is about 1/8 of an inch in thickness. Drape rolled dough into a 6″ pie pan, with a removable bottom, and 1 1/2 – 2 inch deep sides. Without stretching the dough, press it into the pan so that it completely covers the bottom and sides. Roll the rolling pin over the top of the pan to trim the scraps (the dough should just come to the top of the walls of the pan). Cover pan and dough with plastic wrap and transfer to the freezer to chill as you prepare the filling.

While dough is chilling in the freezer, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare the filling: halve the plums by cutting in a circular motion around their pits (like you would an avocado) and twist. Remove pits and discard. Set halved and pitted plums aside.

Split the 1/2 vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and using your hands, work the seeds into the sugar until completely incorporated. Meanwhile, add slivered almonds to a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Toast, shaking pan occasionally, until almonds are fragrant and lightly brown. Remove 1 tablespoon of the almonds and set aside for garnish. Add the remaining almonds and vanilla sugar mixture to a mortar and pestle and grind into a coarse meal (you can also use a food processor for this step, but I like the rustic consistency that a mortar and pestle provides).

Remove the chilled dough from the freezer (it should be super cold and firm at this point, if not allow it chill a bit longer). Sprinkle the almond and sugar mixture over the bottom and arrange the plum halves over top of the sugar, cut sides down. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon of toasted almonds and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Place tart on top of a small baking pan (with raised sides) to catch any juices that may leak while baking, and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake until crust is golden and tops of plums are lightly browned, 40-45 minutes.

Remove tart from oven and allow to cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes (this step is important, as the tart would be a watery mess if cut into before having a chance to cool). After the tart has cooled, carefully remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a serving platter. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cut into wedges to serve.

serves 2 – 4